San Juan had two periods of existence. The first lasted but a month in 1862 when prospectors came across a deposit of silver at the mouth of San Juan Canyon. But the veins were extremely shallow and in a matter of weeks the camp folded. The canyon remained dormant until the 1930s when there was renewed effort on a claim filed 1872. But the mine yielded nothing of value and the miners moved on. There was a second effort by another group with the same result. The final effort began in 1947. The mine produced only $11,000 in silver before closing in 1950. Just a large stone cabin is left in San Juan Canyon and no other evidence that mining ever took place here.

Submitted by: Shawn Hall from his book Preserving The Glory Days: Ghost Towns And Mining Camps Of Nye County, Nevada Click here to purchase his book!